WASHINGTON — A congressional hearing on how federal agencies have “gone wild” with government credit cards found that personal use of taxpayer-funded cards is significant despite tighter controls passed in 2012.

Auditors revealed more than half of the $153,000 in credit-card purchases sampled at the Environmental Protection Agency were prohibited under the guidelines.

They included multi-course meals at an employee award ceremony, gift cards and family gym memberships.

At one Department of Labor program center in Miami, nearly $100,000 was misused on improper charges, including hair salons, clothing stores and online purchases from Amazon and T-mobile.

The chairman of the US House oversight subcommittee, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), specifically called out one California Starbucks where Department of Homeland Security employees charged $12,000 on government-issued cards. A DHS assistant inspector general, Anne Richards, said she’s reviewing the charges, but they could be for stocking boat kitchens when Coast Guard cutters go to sea.

In 2012, Congress passed a law to rein in credit card abuse. The legislation “has had some successes,” Mica said. But “we don’t have Government Credit Cards Gone Wild tamed yet.”

The hearing highlighted several embarrassing audits on the credit card program that allows authorized federal employees to make purchases under $3,000 for official use.

An EPA review in March found employees clearly violated the rules that allow only for the purchase of “light refreshments” at internal award recognition ceremonies. Instead, employees charged $2,900 for one employee ceremony for four appetizers, chicken tenderloin, fresh fruit, pasta salad, cookies, soda and punch.

“It’s absolutely vital that we enhance enforcement to ensure that justice is carried out,” said Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.).